Google Pixel devices receive bug fixes and hidden new features with latest beta builds

Google has now released the second public beta for its next Android 14 quarterly update. To recap, the company switched to Android 14 QPR2 builds in mid-November and published a QPR2 Beta 1.1 build shortly thereafter. Following that, it released Android 14 QPR1 to Pixel devices from the Pixel 5a onwards as the December 2023 update.

Please note that Android 14 QPR2 is unlikely to reach stable status until March 2024. In other words, Beta 2 represents a relatively early stage in QPR2's development. Thus, while QPR Beta builds tend to be more stable than their development preview equivalents, we would not recommend installing them on your regular device. With that in mind, Google advises of the following known bugs within QPR2 Beta 2:

• The Assistant At a Glance widget sometimes displays weather information for the wrong location.
• Sometimes when a user unlocks the device using their fingerprint, there is no haptic feedback.
• For Pixel Fold devices, sometimes after a user unlocks the device while it's folded, the inner display doesn't turn on after unfolding the device.

Additionally, Google has bundled four bug fixes, which are as follows:

• Fixed an issue where battery usage information that was reported in system settings was sometimes incorrect.
• Fixed an issue where the fingerprint icon on the lock screen would sometimes display before other information had loaded in always-on display mode.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the biometric prompt to crash, causing it to be dismissed before a user could interact with it.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Internet Quick Settings tile to indicate that there was no Wi-Fi connection, even when the device was connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Seemingly, Google has not included any of the new features that it brought to recent Pixel devices with this month's Feature Drop. Mishaal Rahman has not noticed a few new user-facing features with QPR2 Beta 2, including a 'Share Wi-Fi' button within the Quick Settings Internet panel. Also, it appears that Google is working to deliver built-in phishing protections, plus an equivalent to Samsung's Secure Folder software.

Moreover, Google is finalising the option of saving app pairs to simplify launching them in split-screen mode. However, this is not ready to try by default, with Rahman enabling a flag to enable the feature. Please see Rahman's thread below for more details about the often hidden changes that Google has made within Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2.

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